by Sam Tackeff | Mar 4, 2013 | Books in 2013, Tea
Let’s curl up with a cup of tea, and talk about my second book of the year. I’m a few books along after this one, but as you might have guessed, I’m a little behind on my re-caps.
#2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Read on Kindle, 350 pages
First published October 16th 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co.
Under the pen name “Currer Bell”
Read on Kindle, as well as listened on audio read by Josephine Bailey
While everyone has been captivated with the newest episodes of Downton Abbey, I’ll freely admit that I’ve been putting off the rest of the series. We watched the first two seasons, but every time I plan to curl up with a cup of tea and watch multiple episodes, I decide that I’d rather be watching the brilliant Swedish version of Wallander, or an episode of some sexy home renovator on HGTV, or better yet, reading a good book.
I love that *everyone* is obsessed with a British melodrama, but I’m annoyed at Julian Fellowes for putting all of my friends and loved ones through the ringer. (Yes, I’m well aware of all the spoilers – once I stopped watching most live TV shows, I came to terms with knowing the plot in advance of most of my television viewing. And since the episodes came out earlier in Britain, I’ve now had not one, but two rounds of impertinent “friends” blabbing and ruining the fun for everyone. You know who you are, jerks.)
Despite my reluctance to immerse myself in Downton, I came to the conclusion that I did indeed want to indulge myself in pithy British melodramas, so I picked up a copy of Jane Eyre.
Mr. Boddington’s Penguin Classics, Jane Eyre via Anthropologie
What can I tell you about this novel? I’m sure you have read it. If you haven’t you probably should, because it’s called a “classic” for a reason. Jane is an orphaned girl raised by a bitter aunt and abusive cousins, and is shipped off for her impertinence to get educated at a hard knocks school for the poor and underprivileged. She makes her escape to become a governess, and finds herself in a long drawn out song and dance with the brooding and handsome master of the house, Mr. Rochester.
I liked the novel, I did. But I found myself deeply frustrated with the character of Mr. Rochester. I’m sure there are some of you who think that I’m a criminal for hating on the Rochester. He even makes ‘Most Romantic Literary Character’ lists. He’s dreamy you say – or at least Michael Fassbender is in his portrayal of him. But here’s the thing. There are hundreds, maybe thousands out there who agree with me.
The internet is full of people who feel the same way – here’s a great Millions article called ‘Mr. Rochester is a Creep: A List’ which sums him up well: “Mr. Rochester, if he isn’t an asshole, he’s a psychopath–or, simply creepy and duplicitous.” Yep, seems about right to me.
***
Cover Art. You can be sure that the original didn’t have snappy cover art like this (above). I’ve been having trouble finding a cover that I liked. While perhaps overly cheerful, I found this cover to match some of the frivolity of the book, rather than other covers which either feature a somber woman’s portrait, or odd gothic imagery.
An interesting thing that I discovered while poking around the inter webs for this re-cap: A series called Re-Covered encouraging the re-design of book cover art. via The Fox Is Black.
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 28, 2013 | Poultry, Quick and Easy, Vegetables
So there was a snow storm three weeks ago. Nemo – I’m sure you heard of it. It was officially named by the Weather Channel, much to the chagrin of the National Weather Service. But three weeks ago – that’s about the last time I sat down at my computer to relax. (These are some of the photos I took of the storm!)
The week of Nemo I joined the team at RunKeeper – as a project manager leading globalization efforts! Beyond the job itself – which is absolutely thrilling – I’m most excited about working with a team of people who are kind, silly, and have a lot of fun together. I knew I would be in good company when in my exhaustive interviews I met cookbook lovers, people excited about home sausage making, home brewers, and another whose wife runs a small CSA/recipe club.
This week confirmed it, when our Hackathon had us working on crazy projects, and suddenly I found myself recording audio on ProTools (something I’d never done before), and dressing up as a “real runner” in order to properly make a fool of myself infront of my new coworkers. It paid off – our team won prizes in the “Audio” and “Best Demo” categories, and I personally won a Nerf gun.
The transition has been a little bit jarring – all of a sudden I’ve been thrust back into a daily grind, and it has been a challenge feeding us healthy meals, without resorting to more takeout.
Thankfully, not every night has been a wash. Here are a few of my favorites – easy meals that I put together quickly while I set about getting other things done.
Roasted sausages + Brussels Sprouts: the sausages are garlic thyme from M.F. Dulock (part of my Meat Club subscription). I usually keep extras in the freezer to defrost and cook when I really can’t bother to do any other work. They went into the skillet with a few cups of brussels sprouts doused with some olive oil, salt, and pepper at 350F, and after about 20 or 25 minutes I flipped over the sausages, agitated the brussels sprouts, and roasted for another 25 minutes, until the sprouts were soft and a little bit crispy.
Steak Salad: I don’t usually cook steaks for dinner, because they are expensive, and I’m happier with good quality ground meat or cheaper stewing or braising cuts for my meal. But sometimes, they show up in Meat Club, so I’m “forced” to eat them. Having not eaten enough vegetables, I opted for steak salad.
I seasoned the steak with salt and pepper, and seared it in a little bit of butter in the skillet. This was a thin steak, so it cooked in about 3 minutes on each side.
I let the steak rest as I heated up some leftover roasted baby potatoes, made a quick sharp mustardy dressing, and tossed it with some butter lettuce.
And then there was sausage night two (do you see a theme here?) This was a spicy Italian sausage, freshly made at the butcher, which I served with some mashed purple potato, and a spinach salad.
And finally, quick garlic chicken thighs, with more of those leftover roasted baby potatoes (another theme!), tossed with some steamed green beans, and a lemon-anchovy vinaigrette. The chicken is simply coated with salt, pepper, and garlic powder – yep, garlic powder. It forms a crispy crust that you can’t get from the fresh allium – and cooked on the stovetop in a little bit of coconut oil, about 7 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
This week, there were a few too many meals out… erm… most of them, but I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!
by Sam Tackeff | Jan 31, 2013 | Cookware
Editor’s note: since I published this post, I’ve received a lot of comments online and off by people frustrated with a different experience (and a much less positive one.) While I was satisfied (and seemingly lucky) with my experience, I’ll leave the comments open, and welcome anyone to share their experience here as well. Did you managed to get your pot replaced? Did it not work? Keep in mind that we’re all real humans here, and in no way connected to Le Creuset, so let’s keep it friendly in the comments!
Here’s a little story for you about my recent experience with Le Creuset. (Spoiler: it ended happily!) But I’ll start from the beginning: from early childhood, my favorite cooking memories involve sitting over the stove, stirring delicious things in Le Creuset pots. My mom has had the same large white French oven, and big blue braiser for at least two decades. More, I suppose. I love the functionality of these pots, and the heat distribution. They are perfect for soups and stews, braising, or even roasting in the oven.
Three years ago, I became a big kid, and got my own – a 7.25 quart round French oven, in Dijon. It’s a cheerful color, made my kitchen happy, and I used it every day. It felt good, having that pot, trusted, and would serve, in a pinch, as an effective weapon, in case of an intruder bursting into my kitchen.
While my mom’s pots have lasted with no problems for decades, alas, I must have purchased a lemon. After a few years, the enamel on the bottom of the pot started cracking, despite my gentle use with wooden spoons, typically low-medium heat as specified by their recommendations, and only gentle scrubbing. (You don’t really ever need to use the thing on high, because of the fantastic cast iron.)
One day, I was heating up some oil in the pan, and the enamel started exploding like tiny pieces of popcorn. I must admit, I had no idea what to do. I couldn’t really afford to drop several hundred dollars on a new pot, and reading threads on Chowhound made me nervous that Le Creuset might not replace it. But after several months with limited braising capabilities, I decided to take the plunge, and try my luck with the return process. There was no sense in sitting with a large, useless kitchen item. (I literally loved the pot so much that the idea of parting with it was horrific, even though I could not use it at the time.) Hopefully, if you are in the same boat as I was, this will be of use.
Here’s what happened:
1. I called customer support, and asked for a Returns Merchandise Authorization number. They ask you to put the number both inside and outside your returns box, so don’t send it to them without calling first! I chatted with the kind support folks for a bit about my problem. They couldn’t promise it would be replaced, but they seemed kindly enough, that I’d risk it.
2. I washed out my sad pot, one last time. I had a big pot, and was a little nervous about finding something to ship it in. Fortunately, my 7.25 quart pot fit perfectly in the USPS priority shipping box! You have to pay for it yourself, but at least this is fairly economical. Go USPS!
3. I wrote a kind note explaining what was wrong, just in case they didn’t notice. I then purchased insurance on the item, and confirmation of delivery (just a few extra dollars, but totally worth it.) My thinking was if the postal service lost my pot, I’d get insurance, and be able to replace the thing anyway. There was a moment where I prayed this would actually happen, because at the time, I still had my doubts about Le Creuset coming through. I also took a picture in the box, just in case. The total came to about 18 dollars, which isn’t free, but also isn’t a tenth of the cost of purchasing a new pot.
4. I waited. The support site says turnaround time is 2-4 weeks, although on the phone I was quoted 4-6 weeks. There’s nothing to really track the process, or any form of communication from the company. But yesterday, I came home, and there was a box on my doorstep. The box came back in less than 3 weeks, and they even replaced it in the discontinued color of the original (Dijon).
If they don’t find fault with their workmanship, they offer a 75% discount off of the purchase of a new pot. (But they won’t return the item you sent to them.) I think I would have had a tantrum if they had pulled this, but fortunately, things went well.
Moral of the story: this was an anxious month. I sent my well loved item back to the factory without promise of return. I wish they had a program that you could just exchange at an authorized point of purchase, but I’m certainly appreciative that I got my pot replaced! And frankly, I wish I had done it sooner! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my pot. So, if there are any of you sitting at home with a sad Le Creuset, just take the plunge.
